History

Exhibition of work by students and lecturers in the refectory and lecture hall of the HfG, 1958
Photo: Wolfgang Siol

«The HfG is not just a school where you are educated in a special subject; the HfG is more like a community whose members share the same intentions: bestowing structure and stability upon the world around us.»

(Tomás Maldonado, «Inaugural speech of the Rector of the HfG,» October 5, 1964)

The Ulm School of Design was an international center for teaching, development, and research in the field of designing industrial products. Designers were trained in five areas—Industrial Design, Visual Communication, Building, Information, and Film. The program lasted four years, and students graduated with a diploma. Classes were divided into departmental work, which concentrated on the practice of design, and relevant theoretical subjects. Teaching materials and methodologies were developed at the Ulm School for a whole new profession, that of the designer. The ongoing further development of the teaching methods of Ulm has led to an entire model that is still relevant in the teaching of design today.